Aquaponics is a sustainable food production process that symbiotically combines breeding and raising aquatic animals for food and using the fish water in connection with growing plant life. Effluents accumulate in the water sustaining the aquatic animals. These effluents may be filtered out and the by-products may be used by the plant life as vital nutrients, resulting in more plentiful harvests and faster growth times. In some aquaponic systems, the effluents may be converted using a biological process. Aquaponic systems are environmentally friendly and may provide impoverished regions with food sources that would otherwise be unavailable.